Sun misses Application server date, earmarks October

Sun Microsystems Inc is promising an October delivery for its latest Java application server product, setting up a potential Autumn clash with IBM's rival application server offering, Gavin Clarke writes.

Santa Clara, California-based Sun told ComputerWire the Sun ONE Application Server 7.0 Platform and Standard editions will be available for Solaris and Windows this month. The company had promised availability in September.

A company spokesperson blamed feedback from beta customers insisting the delay is "nothing unusual."

The spokesperson added versions of the Sun ONE Application Server 7.0 for Linux, HP-UX and AIX promised by the end of 2002 are on schedule, as is launch of an Enterprise Edition due in early 2003.

The delayed launch, though, takes this latest version of Sun's product closer to the planned launch of rival IBM's latest Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application server. WebSphere 5.0 is now expected in November, having been postponed from September.

The products are important as both are the companies' first fully J2EE 1.3 compliant application server implementations and are expected to support latest XML web services standards and specifications. The Sun spokesperson said its application server has already passed Java Community Process (JCP) tests for J2EE 1.3 certification.

A slip in delivery for Sun is important, as Sun ONE Application Server 7.0 now has less time to establish a head start against WebSphere 5.0. Sun wants to increase its market share from single digits under iPlanet, while IBM prepares itself for a fresh head-to-head battle with number-one rival San Jose, California-based BEA Systems Inc.

Sun will give away the Platform Edition but IBM is renowned for discounting on price and its ability to leverage Global Services, driving WebSphere into accounts. The Sun spokesperson said the company does not feel pressure by its proximity to WebSphere 5.0's launch. "We are focussed on shipping a really good product," the spokesperson said.

Given IBM and BEA's dominance - each with more than 30% market share of application server revenues in 2001 according to Giga Information Group's annual survey - Sun's real fight is likely to be for third place, given it has no more than 7% market share. An IBM spokesperson said her company's lead made Sun a "distant force". "We don't see Sun as a competitor," she said.

The fight for this place is likely to see Sun slug it out against Redwood Shores, California-based Oracle Corp, also on single digit numbers but who doubled market share in 2001 to nine percent. The battle has added poignancy recently, when Oracle's 9i Application Server (9iAS) achieved J2EE 1.3 certification in September.

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